Inner Compass Initiative @_innercompass

Did you know that Viagra was originally developed and tested as a drug for high blood pressure and angina? The erection it produced was initially noted only as a “side effect” during clinical trials. But that “side effect” proved so commercially valuable that it became the primary marketed benefit, while the original intended uses faded into the background. More broadly and with all prescription drugs, the choice of what to frame as the main therapeutic effect versus an adverse one is often a marketing decision rather than a purely scientific one. In this clip, our founder, @LauraDelano, reflects on this and how the term “side effect” is used with psychiatric drugs and why that framing matters. She was talking here on the How I Healed podcast with Jocelyn MacDonald and Mary Lou Singleton. It was first published in March 2024 and you can listen to it all through the link in our bio. What mental health industry terms did you encounter that you later realized were not quite what they seemed?

Great work from @EllenBarryNYT on today’s The Daily podcast, breaking down the “open secret” that doctors are far better at getting people ON psych drugs than off them R.F.K. Jr.’s Newest Mission: Getting Us Off Antidepressants nytimes.com/2026/06/22/pod… via @nytimes

Our guide to being careful with supplements during tapering and withdrawal ⬇️ (2/2) theinnercompass.org/help-hub/being…

🧵 When tapering a psychiatric drug, you may consider turning to vitamin and mineral supplements in the hope they can support the process. While it’s completely understandable to explore this option, as with any psychiatric drugs themselves, it’s vital to make informed choices. Being informed about supplements means knowing they are not miracle cures, there is no guarantee they will help, and in some cases they may even be disruptive or harmful. In this video, our Executive Director Cooper Davis (@CooperDavis) explains more about this. And as part of our free resources, we take a closer look at this subject, sharing experiences from the community showing mixed results with commercial vitamins, minerals, and herbs, and the specific concerns about supplements that have psychoactive effects. You can read this guide via the link below. (1/2)

@lololizzle @PSSDNetwork @PSSDInstitute Source for "[...] are among the most frequently cited reasons people choose to stop these drugs" ⬇️ (3/3). sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

@lololizzle For more information about PSSD, follow @PSSDNetwork and @PSSDInstitute. (2/3)

🧵 As Lauren Friedman (@lololizzle) so powerfully describes here in her recent testimony, psychiatric drugs can strip away “the most central, intoxicating, worthwhile, and fulfilling parts of the human experience.” She was speaking at the May 4 MAHA summit about her experience of Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD)—a condition that can emerge or persist after stopping psychiatric drugs, particularly those that act on serotonin such as SSRIs and SNRIs. For those affected, this involves not only the loss of sexual function, but a profound emotional numbness. For Lauren, it means a loss of feeling love for her own mother, a loss of connection with friends and loss of pleasure in music and songwriting. We know many of you have had similar experiences even while still taking antidepressants—and these adverse effects are among the most frequently cited reasons people choose to stop these drugs (source below). Some of you reading this may well be tapering right now because of these effects. We'd love to hear from you: How did psychiatric drugs affect your relationships with family, friends, or partners? How did it affect your ability to love and to feel loved—something so deeply human? Your experiences really do matter. Sharing them helps others feel less alone and better informed as they consider their options. (1/3)

Inner Compass Research Institute fellows, as pictured above, clockwise from top left, are: - Our founder, Laura Delano (@LauraDelano) - David Cohen - Jeffrey Lacasse (@LacasseJeffrey) - Nicolas Badre (@BadreNicolas) - Gretchen Watson (@DrGWatson) 3/3

We welcome your thoughts on our position statements—you can read all three here ⬇️. What stands out for you? (2/3) theinnercompass.org/researchinstit…

🧵Last month, Americans and the wider world watched closely as high-level federal officials and agencies placed antidepressant deprescribing and medicalization squarely on the national agenda. In the weeks that followed until this very day, many of you shared your personal experiences, thoughtful reflections, and honest reactions across social media. We read them all and we’re grateful—your input continues to shape the future in important ways. But the conversation wasn’t limited to social media. As it unfolded, our Research Institute and its forward-thinking clinicians and researchers have been closely reviewing the May 4th summit announcements, analyzing the federal “Dear Colleague” letter, examining the broader evidence base, and considering real-world implications. These efforts have now led us to release three new position statements that outline a vision for what’s next—concrete recommendations for safe deprescribing, greater emphasis on informed choice, stronger clinician support, and the development of parallel systems of care. You can read them all via the link below / in our bio, but here’s a summary: On the May 4th summit and announcements: We welcome the focus on safe deprescribing and urge key priorities including: independent research, practical tapering guidelines, clinician training, greater focus on informed choices, and meaningful reductions in unnecessary polypharmacy, especially for children and youth. Response to the “Dear Colleague” letter We view this as a positive step toward patient-centered care, with greater emphasis on non-pharmaceutical options, regular medication reviews, shared decision-making, and full disclosure about withdrawal, long-term use, and alternatives. Response to psychiatric groups’ commentary: We agree the current situation is deeply complex, intertwined with many social, economic, and systemic factors, and we strongly agree that abrupt discontinuation of antidepressants and other psychiatric medications is dangerous. This must remain a clear and consistent message in all discussions. These new position statements reflect our commitment from the very beginning of Inner Compass Initiative: it is not, and never has been, about banning medications or taking them away from people who find them helpful. Instead, it’s always been about ensuring people have real informed choice, safer off-ramps when they want to reduce or stop, and a broader range of supports. (1/3)

We treat psychiatric drugs like candy. You can see that in who writes most psychiatric prescriptions. Psychiatrists aren’t writing most of them. Primary care providers are. That means many of these drugs get prescribed during routine appointments by physicians who have even less of an understanding of the potential risks of long-term psychiatric drug use than psychiatrists do. Too often, someone walks into an annual checkup struggling with stress, grief, or anxiety and walks out with a prescription. These are powerful psychoactive chemicals that can profoundly alter how the brain and body function. After decades of drug advertising and cultural messaging, we’ve convinced ourselves every problem has a pill and every pill is worth the trade off. @yoalexrapz

What about you? If you have tapered or stopped psychiatric drugs—or are in the process right now—what shifts, big or small, did you notice or are you noticing? We’d love to hear your experience in the comments. 9/9

But among those who do choose this route, many describe unexpected moments of growth, insight, or improvement along the way. 8/9

🧵 For all the challenges that tapering psychiatric drugs brings, there has got to be a reason—or many reasons—so many of us go through or are going through this process right now. Among those reasons are real, tangible improvements to our health and wellbeing, including these five that people in our community commonly report... 1/9